I consider the concept of rest as a sensitive topic in the workplace. And I do not just mean the act of taking a vacation and using our paid vacation leaves but the whole concept of rest as part of our lifestyle. When you think about this word, what image comes to your mind? Are you like some people that would associate this word with sleep, being lazy, or unproductive? Or are you on the other side of the spectrum where rest means reading a book, engaging in arts and crafts, or some personal project? This word means different things for different people and in healthcare research, its subjective definition has also challenged researchers in exploring its restorative benefits.
In the workplace, rest would usually be associated with using our paid vacation leaves and we know that organizations who are under strict deadlines or is involved in year-long operations may find it more challenging to allow vacation leaves.
But rest does not automatically mean taking a vacation especially right now that going out of town or out of the country is hindered by the pandemic. What we’ll talk about is the concept of rest and the prevailing culture of toxic productivity and how it causes our fear of rest.
Just recently, I subjected myself to this kind of habit. When the pandemic hit and most of us transitioned to the work from home setup, I was one of those people who thought that I finally have the time to pursue the activities I couldn’t do when I had to physically go to the office and spend most of my hours on my daily commute. I pushed myself to be “more productive” by taking (and finishing) lots of online courses, attending webinars, doing some of the hobbies that I have neglected like journaling, etc. I also worked harder than ever, taking only an hour of a break during lunch, and would work long hours not because it was required but because I couldn’t stop. And it was ironic because, in the office, I rarely render overtime as it was my philosophy that eight hours is enough and if you had to extend beyond that, you didn’t make use of that eight hours wisely.
I kept on pushing myself until I reached my breaking point. The level of stress I felt at this point was too much that engaging in more “productive” activities to distract myself was not working anymore. Yet, I still refused to rest. I even told myself that my situation is not unique and it does not make me special. I told myself that the world is in a pandemic and a lot of other people had it worse so why would I need to rest. And like what I wrote in my first blog post, leadership is a choice and it is choosing to prioritize your people over myself so I was also constantly telling myself that I cannot take a break and just leave my team while I go relax.
This went on for a few more weeks until I came into the realization that I’m doing more harm than good. First, I noticed that I was already committing errors in some of the documents I was preparing. And for a person who pays great attention to details, I didn’t like how I was making those mistakes. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What’s worse is that the stress I was feeling was already affecting other people. I was getting easily pissed off by simple remarks or gestures I found offensive and was getting impatient dealing with questions and inquiries that I have already discussed or sent out guidelines on. In short, I couldn’t practice the things I value: trust and empathy. Worst, I couldn’t be a leader anymore and take care of the people in my charge.
Leadership, trust, and empathy all require conscious decisions. And decisions happen in the brain. But not because it happens in the brain does not mean we are always in charge, as some of the findings in neuroscience are uncovering. Now I am no expert in this field but from the perspective of management and leadership, empathy requires mental activity. When we hear this word, it is easy to associate it with emotions and values. But one fact about empathy is that it requires you to listen and observe to say that you understand what the other person is saying and feeling. And these two activities require brainpower.
When we’re tired and under a lot of stress, our decision-making processes are impaired. One study even suggested that stress narrows our focus of attention. And if empathy requires listening and observation, then it involves processing what the other person is saying, and what his gestures, word choice, and body language imply.
When I talked about trust and empathy in a Virtual Leadership webinar I conducted, one attendee asked me “how does trust and empathy kick in when burnout and overwork for both employee and manager kick in?” I’ll conclude this blog post with the same answer I provided in that webinar. The answer is while it is still possible to activate trust and empathy where there is burnout, it would be more difficult to practice these two when you’re under this kind of stress. The only solution is to just take a break and rest. While taking a vacation from work also requires a supportive environment where time off is welcomed and there is no vacation shaming, rest does not automatically mean this. It would be as simple as controlling yourself from working long hours when it is not necessary, detaching yourself from work when the clock hits 5 P.M. or during the weekends, or with however you defined the concept of rest. Whatever rest means to you, I know we will both agree that rest involves choosing yourself so that you can go back to becoming a leader and choosing others.
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